My GP thinks I may have Multiple Sclerosis...

Dublo7

Around 2 months ago, I went to the doctor with complaints of persistent and severe fatigue and poor cognition; my memory and attention span have markedly degraded in a matter of months. I feel as if I'm in the early stages of dementia. Every day comes with the promise of fatigue. Sometimes it's so bad that I can't even talk; Words often refuse to come to me.
Around December it became more and more apparent that something was wrong. I spent 7 weeks in Europe, and some days I'd wake up and have an incredibly difficult time remembering what the hell I did the previous day. The Louvre couldn't have been that boring, surely!

At first I thought this was a result of me being deficient in a nutrient or two; I'm a vegetarian, so I thought it possible that I was just missing out on some that B12. I had a blood test and everything was perfect. I'm not deficient in anything.
My doctor thought it was anxiety related, so he prescribed me with some anti-anxiety medication (Moclobemide) and told me to see how I go. Reporting back to him a few weeks later and with no progress or alleviation of my symptoms, he maintained it was anxiety... That was until I told him that since I had seen him last, my right foot had fallen numb and had been numb for almost three weeks (going on four weeks now as I type this post) and I am also experiencing a daily prickling sensation in both of my hands. Muscles in my left wrist are also contracting and twitching without me having any say in the matter.

This fatigue is really starting to get the best of me. Reading and studying are so fucking difficult. Dreadful thoughts are already invading my mind as to how this could affect my potential career. I want to be a fucking doctor, for god sake.

I just want to go back to feeling normal. I crave mental clarity. I'm sick of this woolly, foggy, hungover feeling.

I guess there's no real sense in dwelling on it at the moment, and it's silly to immediately assume I have MS... but man, I'm so scared.

My GP said I may have Multiple Sclerosis. All of my symptoms supposedly check out. I've been referred to a neurologist, and I have to now wait a month for my first consultation and MRI scan.

This is going to be a fantastic month.

OmegaTofuNinja

That really sucks. They thought I might have this back when I was really sick, and it was the only thing that really worried me throughout the whole ordeal. Here's hoping you get some good results

Usagi

That stinks, I hope they figure out what's wrong soon dude

Numb/tingly feet is the weirdest thing, though. Freaked me right out when it happened to me

Centipede Damascus

Dang, man. I know we ain't ever been buds or anything, but you deserve some hugs.

The Sneak!

Holy fucking shit Dublo, I'm sorry man! I had no idea you were going through any of this.

Just because the symptoms all check out, it doesn't necessarily mean that you have MS. I have an anxiety/panic disorder, and have thought many times over that I was going insane, or that I was going into cardiac arrest and dying, and it hasn't happened yet. Just try to keep as positive as you can right now.

lostwords

At first, I expected this to be a "my girlfriend" type thread, but dang man, that sounds rough hope you get good news down the road. Good luck! Internet bro hugs

Theidar

Oh fuck I hope your GP is wrong.

Did they check your thyroid levels?

lostwords

Maybe you have like a giant tape worm in your tumtum that eats up all your precious foods? (It was on an episode of House)

autono-wally, erotibot300

I'm feeling abnormally tired and depressed, at the moment, as well as waking up with headaches without any apparent cause.
And now that I think of it, I've had this from time to time before.
Hm..
Wish you the best dublo, hope it's something less serious

Dublo7

Centipede Damascus wrote: »

Dang, man. I know we ain't ever been buds or anything, but you deserve some hugs.

Thanks man

Theidar wrote: »

Oh fuck I hope your GP is wrong.

Did they check your thyroid levels?

My Thyroxine (T4) and TSH levels are normal.

lostwords wrote: »

Maybe you have like a giant tape worm in your tumtum that eats up all your precious foods? (It was on an episode of House)

What's really funny is, I recently finished watching series 6 of House, and during every episode I'd be thinking, "Man, I need House right about now."

Staleghoti

It's okay they can cure your MS by pumping up your veins with a balloon.

autono-wally, erotibot300

Staleghoti wrote: »

It's okay they can cure your MS by pumping up your veins with a balloon.

You should stop around claiming your method fixes not only erectile dysfunction, but everything else, too

Dublo7

Staleghoti wrote: »

It's okay they can cure your MS by pumping up your veins with a balloon.

I think it was the arteries... Big difference.

I did read about that a few days ago. Pretty interesting.

Liiya

I'm sorry Dublo, my aunt has MS and it sucks

Dublo7

Liiya wrote: »

I'm sorry Dublo, my aunt has MS and it sucks

Do you mind if I ask what your aunt's main symptoms are?

Theidar

Hopefully the Neurologist figures this out and its not MS.

I had a lot of those symptoms when I was 14 and eventually they figured out I had Lyme Disease.

The Black Hunter

My mum has MS, and I feel for you

I hope you don't have it, I really, really do.

Just know that, while my mum has MS, she has restored a 1963 VW beetle, become one of the states most respected wildlife carers and writes the newsletter for the state herpetology foundation.

and is finishing a diploma in animal biology right now

Stale

Dublo, a lot of this also sounds like Neuropathy, which while not curable, at least isn't *as* debilitating as MS.


Really, most everyone of your symptoms I can attribute to my own neuropathy, so you might ask that they look into that as well. In particular, the fatigue, the cognition, and the prickling/numbness.

Ruckus

He's talking about CCSVI, which may be a cause of or possibly associated with MS. Studies are ongoing, but it's apparently fairly easy to detect with ultrasound.

[edit] Staleghoti was talking about it

Liiya

Dublo7 wrote: »

Liiya wrote: »

I'm sorry Dublo, my aunt has MS and it sucks

Do you mind if I ask what your aunt's main symptoms are?

Of course not, it's mainly muscle stiffness for her at the moment which makes her job tricky because she cares for the elderly. That's what I've been told at least. When I last saw her she seemed her usual self

Dublo7

Stale wrote: »

Dublo, a lot of this also sounds like Neuropathy, which while not curable, at least isn't *as* debilitating as MS.


Really, most everyone of your symptoms I can attribute to my own neuropathy, so you might ask that they look into that as well. In particular, the fatigue, the cognition, and the prickling/numbness.

Cheers for that, Stale. I'll make sure to bring it up.

The Sneak!

The Black Hunter wrote: »

My mum has MS, and I feel for you

I hope you don't have it, I really, really do.

Just know that, while my mum has MS, she has restored a 1963 VW beetle, become one of the states most respected wildlife carers and writes the newsletter for the state herpetology foundation.

and is finishing a diploma in animal biology right now

That's awesome.

bongi

That's super-gay, sorry

Cogliostro

Yeah, it doesn't mean the end of your life if you have it, dude. I'm hoping for you!

Theidar

True there's a lot more treatment for MS nowadays and you definitely should give up in your dreams.

Still this could be a lot of other less serious things too.

Cilla Black

One of my distant uncles had MS and lived to be something like 64. Thing is, he didn't die from it. He died by accidentally falling from a ladder while painting the third story of his house. Kind of macabre and anecdotal, but still, if he could paint his entire house while living with MS, it's not going to be the end of the world as you know it.

Staleghoti

Dublo7 wrote: »

Staleghoti wrote: »

It's okay they can cure your MS by pumping up your veins with a balloon.

I think it was the arteries... Big difference.

I did read about that a few days ago. Pretty interesting.

Some lady who'd had MS for decades had the procedure done, there was a profile on the radio on her.

I think she had to go to italy to get it or something, but she says it worked. I think the issue doctors are having with it is long-term results

Ruckus

Staleghoti wrote: »

Dublo7 wrote: »

Staleghoti wrote: »

It's okay they can cure your MS by pumping up your veins with a balloon.

I think it was the arteries... Big difference.

I did read about that a few days ago. Pretty interesting.

Some lady who'd had MS for decades had the procedure done, there was a profile on the radio on her.

I think she had to go to italy to get it or something, but she says it worked. I think the issue doctors are having with it is long-term results

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_cerebrospinal_venous_insufficiency

A new link for a new page.

[edit] Also it is Veins, as it's apparently a drainage (flowing back out of the brain to the heart) issue.

Dublo7

Ruckus wrote: »

Staleghoti wrote: »

Dublo7 wrote: »

Staleghoti wrote: »

It's okay they can cure your MS by pumping up your veins with a balloon.

I think it was the arteries... Big difference.

I did read about that a few days ago. Pretty interesting.

Some lady who'd had MS for decades had the procedure done, there was a profile on the radio on her.

I think she had to go to italy to get it or something, but she says it worked. I think the issue doctors are having with it is long-term results

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_cerebrospinal_venous_insufficiency

A new link for a new page.

[edit] Also it is Veins, as it's apparently a drainage (flowing back out of the brain to the heart) issue.

Oops, my bad.